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Faulty Wiring on United Airlines Planes?; Bush Administration Looks to Overhaul Financial Regulatory System; Rice on Race: Slavery An American "Birth Defect"
Aired March 31, 2008 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Two rough landings, one major safety issue for a major U.S. airline. United is the third airline in a week to take a hard look at wiring.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: No quick fixes for the mortgage crisis or the credit crisis or the securities crisis. But the Bush administration says there ought to be a law -- make that an overhaul -- for next time. We're going to check out the fine print.
Hi there. I'm Brianna Keilar at CNN Center in Atlanta. Kyra Phillips is on assignment in Iraq.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(WEATHER UPDATE)
KEILAR: It has been a rough month for airlines and, of course, for you, the flying public, and unfortunately it's not over yet. United Airlines is confirming faulty wiring in the landing gear of three Airbus A-320s, two of them involved in runway accidents in the past six months.
And CNN Special Investigations Unit correspondent Drew Griffin is here with the details.
What's -- is should say, what's it about this time?
(CROSSTALK)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, basically, it's brakes, and the wiring was crossed, so that these planes were skidding off the runway. The latest one happened in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where a plane skidded off, an A-320 skidded off into a snowbank. Before that, there was one in October.
After the January -- or, I should say, February event, United went back and looked at all of their 97 A-320s and they found one more that had this crossed wiring in the breaking system.
What United told me today is even kind of more unnerving, is that all of these planes were checked after the work was done, and they have an anti-skid test that they run. That did not detect the problem.
It wasn't until they actually went back after the incidents and checked all these that they actually found the problem, all the problems fixed, but this is part of an NTSB, a federal investigation as to how it happened, how it wasn't caught, and some of the work, Brianna, done both outside and inside the company. Nobody caught it. That's a problem.
KEILAR: When you say crossed wiring, do you mean if they're trying to brake one side of, I guess, the wheels -- here, I show my -- I don't know much about planes.
GRIFFIN: Right. I don't want to get too much involved.
(CROSSTALK)
GRIFFIN: What they are saying is, there was a cross-wiring in the brakes and that was causing the plane to skid. And how that happened is part of a federal investigation. And United would not go into details with it because of that.
KEILAR: But it makes you wonder, because there have been so many safety concerns. We heard a short time ago from you about missed inspections. We have Delta, Southwest, American now, United. It just makes you wonder if it speaks to the state of airline safety as a whole.
GRIFFIN: It does seem like it's coming to a head. And this week, there are going to be hearings, actually a hearing on Thursday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee looking at the very issue, Brianna, of oversight in the airline maintenance area.
Does the FAA do enough? Do the airlines do enough? The airlines really have been doing all the work of their own inspection program. The FAA just checks whether or not to see if that's correct. Critics, for years, have said that's a pretty bad program.
KEILAR: Yes. And I know that last night I sat on an MD-88, which was one of the airlines that was checked, not necessarily a problem in the last couple weeks. And I just thought, OK, you know...
(CROSSTALK)
GRIFFIN: Yes. You can either be worried, or you could think, boy, there's a lot more people checking these airlines right now.
KEILAR: Sure. That's the good part.
OK, Special Investigations Unit correspondent, Drew Griffin -- thank you.
LEMON: Let's talk now about the mortgage meltdown, the credit crunch, market turmoil.
Financial regulators are struggling with that current crisis, but they're also hoping to head off future ones with an overhaul of the regulatory system, what's being called the most ambitious plan of its kind since the Great Depression.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson took the wraps off today while promising the plan does not overregulate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY PAULSON, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: I am not suggesting that more regulation is the answer, or even that more effective regulation can prevent the periods of financial market stress that seem to occur every five to ten years. I am suggesting that we should and can have a structure that is designed for the world we live in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, here's a breakdown of the plan. The plan broadens the powers of the Federal Reserve.
It combines some of the agencies that oversee markets. It creates a national mortgage commission to oversee mortgage brokers, many of whom now operate outside federal reach. And it tries to iron out a mishmash of lending rules nationwide.
Well, there's a whole lot in this plan, but critics say there's also a whole lot that's not in the plan. Let's go straight to senior correspondent Allan Chernoff for the very latest on that.
OK, there's a whole lot that's not in the plan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Don, you just heard the treasury secretary saying he's not really pushing for more regulation. A lot of investors and consumers and even some people on Wall Street want to see tougher regulation.
They feel that it could prevent the sort of crisis that we have experienced over the past month. So that's a critical issue here. Now, the treasury secretary is saying that this is a solid blueprint, but it's only a blueprint in the works, something to be discussed and not to be implemented right away, Don. So, that's really what this is all about.
LEMON: All right, senior correspondent Allan Chernoff -- Allan, thank you.
KEILAR: As the Bush administration struggles with the housing crisis, a key player is heading out the door. Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced today that he is leaving April 18 to focus on -- quote -- "personal and family matters."
He's long been accused of ethics violations, including giving lucrative contracts to friends. The FBI is investigating, but Jackson has not been charged with anything.
Over the years, President Bush has stood by his longtime friend. And today he issued a statement praising Jackson's work. And right now, there is no word on a possible replacement.
LEMON: And, Brianna, loss of jobs, plus rising prices means more Americans need help just to buy the basics. "The New York Times" reports the number of people getting food stamps could reach an all-time high of 28 million in the coming fiscal year, up from 27.8 million this year. "The Times" says the number fluctuates with changing eligibility rules and natural disasters.
But, this time, experts blame the economic slowdown, a projected growth in job losses, and higher prices for basic goods. Percentage- wise, though, more Americans got food stamps after the recession in the 1990s, but, this year, this year, the actual numbers are expected to be higher.
Well, you may qualify for food stamps and not even know it. They're available for households of four, for example, whose monthly income is less than $2,238 gross, $1,721 net. Applications and face- to-face interviews are required, along with proof of expenses and income.
The slumping economy is affecting you in more ways than you might know. Check out CNNMoney.com's special report. It's called "Issue #1." From protecting your money to finding a job that's right for you, there's a ton of information that could save you money and a whole lot of misery. Plus, there are some interactive tools and a lot more, all that at CNNMoney.com.
KEILAR: A hail of gunfire ending a hostage nightmare -- a dramatic hostage situation caught on tape ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Our Bonnie Schneider showed you a couple of new watches and warnings. We have got some severe weather rolling through much of the Midwest. Bonnie Schneider is checking it for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Another cease-fire appears to be taking hold in Iraq. For the most part, the streets of Basra are said to be quiet after a week of intense fighting.
Hard-line Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called on his followers to stand down and cooperate with government troops and police. He also wants raids and attacks against Shiite militants to stop. One Iraqi lawmaker tells CNN Iran played a major role in brokering that truce.
Iraq has lifted those all-day curfews that had been imposed in Basra and parts of Baghdad, and for the moment, normal overnight curfews are back in place.
For the Maupin family of Ohio, four years of dread has come true. The remains of their missing son have been found in Iraq. Staff Sergeant Keith Matthew Maupin was captured four years ago next week when Iraqi insurgents attacked his convoy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROLYN MAUPIN, MOTHER OF KILLED U.S. SOLDIER: It hurts. It hurts. After you go through four years, almost four years, of hope, and then this is what happens, it's like a letdown, to me. So, I'm trying to get through that right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Maupin was just 20-years-old when he was captured in April of 2004.
(WEATHER UPDATE)
KEILAR: A budget airline bites the dust. Aloha Airlines says aloha to Hawaii. We will tell you why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: One of Hawaii's oldest interisland carriers apparently won't be plying after today. Aloha Airlines, founded in 1946, is ending passenger service in the wake of sky-high fuel costs and fierce competition. It filed for bankruptcy protection earlier.
Hawaii's governor wants a judge to keep Aloha flying until it proves there is no other choice.
LEMON: Lei'd to rest. Did you see that lower third? Lei'd to rest.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: That's pretty goofy.
I thought you were going to say Aloha, Aloha.
KEILAR: I didn't see it. I should have been looking, though.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: That would have been the perfect thing to say -- OK -- or maybe the cheesy thing.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
KEILAR: It can help you qualify for a loan or even lower your interest rates. And, the higher it is, the better. It is your credit score.
And CNN's Ali Velshi has some tips to help you boost it on this week's "Right on Your Money."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Falling home prices means more opportunities for buyers. But with lending standards tightening, improving your credit score is more important than ever.
JOHN ULZHEIMER, CREDIT.COM: If you want to guarantee yourself the best rates and the best terms that any lender has to offer, you really need to be boosting a 750 across the board. Now, of course you can still get approved with a score lower than 750. You could even get credit in the mid 600s. But you should not expect the best rates and the best terms in the mid 600s.
VELSHI: The easiest way to give your credit score a boost is to pay off high credit card balances and avoid opening new lines of credit.
ULZHEIMER: If you're in credit score improvement mode, you really need to kind of take a step back, no need jerk reactions, and tackle the things that are costing you the most. Pay off the collections or settle them. Pay down the credit card debt as much as possible, and by all means do not exit the credit environment as a means for improving your credit score.
VELSHI: And be aware, closing credit cards just because you rarely use them will not help your credit score. Hold on to older credit cards. The longer you have managed credit, the better your score will be.
And that's this weeks "Right on Your Money."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: And you can follow your fortunes at CNNMoney.com. We have got all the day's market news and numbers, expert analysis, and much more.
LEMON: Absolutely.
A man is taken hostage in Florida right in front of police and TV news cameras.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(GUNFIRE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Gosh. It sounds like fireworks. It is not. That is gunfire. Moments later, the suspect faces a barrage of police bullets. We will show you how it ended.
KEILAR: She won't talk about the presidential campaign, but she will talk about one of its big issues -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on race in America.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN World Headquarters here in Atlanta.
KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar in for Kyra Phillips, who is on assignment.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: We are following a number of developing stories right here today in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Another major airline is raising safety concerns. United says it's found faulty wiring in the landing gear of three of its Airbus A- 320s. Officials believe the wiring caused two nonfatal runway accidents. Last week, Delta and American canceled hundreds of flight for wiring inspections.
Amid a nationwide housing crisis, the nation's housing's chief is stepping down.
Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson says he's leaving office April 18. Jackson's been under investigation for alleged ethics violations, something critics say distracted him from his job.
People across Missouri and Oklahoma are facing tornado watches and flash flood watches right now, after severe storms caused scattered damage and power outages. No injuries reported so far.
KEILAR: Leading our political ticker, John McCain's five-state bus tour. The presumptive Republican nominee is kicking things off with two events today in Meridian, Mississippi. Yesterday, he visited the Meridian Naval Air Station, where he was a flight instructor back in the 1960s. Now, the station's McCain Field is actually named after his grandfather.
Now, on the Democratic side today, it's all about Pennsylvania. That state's Democratic primary is just three weeks from tomorrow. Barack Obama held a town hall meeting earlier in Lancaster. And he also is holding a rally today in Allentown.
Hillary Clinton has two stops in Pennsylvania today -- a roundtable discussion in Harrisburg and also a rally in Fairless Hills. Polls show Clinton leading Obama in the biggest state that hasn't yet voted -- leading by double digits, in fact.
LEMON: All right, this is a very interesting story that we didn't get in on Friday because it happened after our hour, but we want to talk to you about this.
In the middle of an historic battle between an African-American presidential candidate and a woman candidate, Condoleezza Rice certainly has a very unique perspective. The first black female secretary of state sat down recently with "The Washington Times" and she was asked about race in America and she responded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Africans and Europeans came here and founded this country together -- Europeans by choice and Africans in chains. And that's not a very pretty reality of our founding. And I think that particular birth defect makes it hard for us to confront it, hard for us to talk about it and hard for us to realize that it has continuing relevance for who we are today.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Joining us with their thoughts an all of this CNN contributor Roland Martin in Chicago. And in Washington, D.C. , Princella Smith with the group American Solutions, an organization founded by Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Welcome to both of you. Thank you for joining us.
Roland, we had a conversation about this this weekend. She is not -- she doesn't usually take on the topic of race and she was very stern in her comments on Friday.
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Well, Don, I actually played the entire interview this morning on my radio show, WVON in Chicago. And went on for two hours taking phone calls. It was remarkable, because she also -- she talked about the whole issue of the birth defect. But she also talked about the fact that African- Americans have never gotten a head start. And she said you can see some of the residual effects of that today.
She also said that African -- black Americans loved America when America didn't love us. That's our legacy.
LEMON: Yes.
MARTIN: So it was certainly powerful words. And it's surprising, Don, how a lot of folks have just ignored this story, have not talked about -- it in light of all the conversation we've had in recent weeks dealing with Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Senator Barack Obama's race speech.
LEMON: Well, that was -- just when you -- that quote that we played, that little clip that we played, she went on to say what you said. She said -- she goes, "But I want -- I'd want -- I would like this understood as a black American, is that black Americans loved and had faith in this country even when this country didn't love and have faith in them. And that is our legacy" -- Princella?
PRINCELLA SMITH, NATIONAL SPOKESWOMAN, AMERICAN SOLUTIONS: Yes, I think that Dr. Rice was head on. And I'm actually glad and excited that she decided to come out and speak on this issue. And I think one thing that we have to think about in America is we have to think about the two conversations that we're having.
Roland mentioned that they did -- it didn't get much coverage. And it is a bit disappointing because what I'm seeing here is you talk to people as you watch the...
LEMON: Yes, but why not? I mean why not? You are in the business to help this get coverage. Roland, you --
SMITH: Right.
LEMON: Roland played it on his radio show. I think I saw it on one evening newscast
MARTIN: Well, actually I know "THE SITUATION ROOM" did a story. Zain did a story, as well.
LEMON: Right.
MARTIN: But go ahead.
LEMON: Go ahead.
SMITH: I think that the problem is that you've two warring sides. You've got a campaign season here on television. So you've got the left and their Hollywood trial lawyer bureaucratic system who wants to say that all the problems are because of racism.
And then you've got the right, who has become somewhat aloof, has become shallow and only focusing on raising money. And they haven't been able to sit down and listen to true academics like Secretary Rice, who lived through the days of segregation, who graduated from high school when she was 15, went on to college and graduated and had racist professors and who is, quite frankly, speaking to a founding truth about the history of this country.
MARTIN: Well, I think --
LEMON: And, also, I mean little -- many people don't know -- I'm sure some do, but, you know, the 16th Street Baptist Church. We remember the four little girls who died in that church, Bull Connor.
SMITH: Right, yes.
LEMON: Denise McNair, one of the girls who died, a very good friend...
SMITH: Was her friend.
MARTIN: Yes.
LEMON: ...of Condoleezza Rice.
MARTIN: You know, Don, I talked to Armstrong Williams, a conservative talk show host, a television host, on my radio show today. And he said that -- from the right, he said this doesn't fit their agenda. They don't want to talk about what Condoleezza Rice had to say when it came to race because they sort of held her up as oh, here's somebody who hasn't used race.
And the point is she didn't use race. She didn't say I'm a victim. What she tried to offer is context. And, Don, we think about it. The first African --
LEMON: And she was asked about it. She just didn't come out and say --
MARTIN: Well, actually, she was asked -- the question was --
LEMON: About the 40th anniversary, yes.
MARTIN: About Dr. King being assassinated. But here's what's interesting, Don. The first person of African ancestry who landed in America was in 1619. If you look at the -- that's 390 years. If you look at the history of America, African-Americans -- if you want to use the word free in terms of being full citizens, only about 47 years.
LEMON: Yes.
MARTIN: I mean and so I think people forget that -- 47 out of 390 years, that's what she was talking about.
SMITH: Well, Don, another point to bring out is she also talked about how close the culture of slavery is to current culture. I'm in my early 20s --
MARTIN: Yes.
SMITH: My grandfather was a sharecropper. And that is really -- when you put it into perspective, there, it is very close to our generation.
But another thing that we are not talking about is more so even -- or maybe not more so, but equally to the calls about racism is about this bad culture that America has moved into.
LEMON: Do you think -- it's interesting we're -- and Roland mentioned it -- the Reverend Jeremiah Wright and then Barack Obama's race speech and what have you. Maybe that did open up the door for her to feel more comfortable about speaking in these tones because, again, as I said, she doesn't really talk about it much.
And I want to play a clip. The next day, once people got wind of what she said, she had to answer the question again.
Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICE: It's a matter of reconciliation. It's also a matter of having laws that need to be upheld. But I think Americans can also be very proud of this country and how far we have come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Americans should be proud of this country and how far we've come -- not that she is in any way backtracking or what have you. But standing there in front of that audience, in front of a larger audience, Roland and Princella, it doesn't seem that her comments were as firm as they were the day before.
MARTIN: Well, again, it's also setting and also one how elaborated. She did make the exact same point when she met with "The Washington Times" -- that we have, indeed, come a long way.
I think what Secretary Rice was trying to do -- and this is the fundamental issue that we have with the conversation with race in America, Don -- is that is she tried to say we have to admit the reality that race is in the DNA of America. When she used the phrase "birth defect," what she said is that was with us from the beginning.
We were born with it. And what happens is, we want to deny it. That's like actually having a birth defect and let's say your eye is shut and no one talks about it. They just say oh, no...
LEMON: Yes.
MARTIN: ...both eyes work. We want to live in denial. And what she is saying is no, let's accept the reality of where we started and then we can go from there. As long as we deny it, we can never have a true conversation.
LEMON: And Roland, she says every day she looks at a picture of Thomas Jefferson and wonders what he would think -- her first predecessor... MARTIN: Precisely.
LEMON: ...sixty-five times removed and said I wonder what he would think -- an African-American woman in that position.
MARTIN: Following an African-American man.
LEMON: Yes, all right. Thank you both.
SMITH: Thank you.
LEMON: Princella Smith, Roland Martin, thanks for having this conversation with us.
SMITH: Good to be here.
MARTIN: Appreciate it.
KEILAR: When the reality of autism hits home...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THERESA CEDILLO, MOTHER OF AUTISTIC GIRL: And you think you're dealing with something that is going to come and go and then you get your child back and then you don't. You just have a very sick child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Parents fighting for their disabled child and against the government.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Let's get back to basics -- to the basics -- doctors advice after disappointing results in a study of the cholesterol- fighting drug Vytorin. Vytorin combines the drugs Zetia and Zocor. And while it lowers bad cholesterol, or LDL, researchers say it does nothing to eliminate the buildup of artery-damaging plaque and is no more effective than Zocor alone, which is sold generically.
Heart experts say patients need to return to statins. The study is published in "The New England Journal of Medicine".
KEILAR: A number of parents blame vaccines for their children's autism and some of those parents are going to court.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is helping unravel the mystery of autism.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Watching old videos, Theresa Cedillo sees the child her daughter Michelle could have been -- happy, engaged, playful.
Michelle's childhood has turned out very different. She's autistic. Now 13, she can't walk without help. She gets her nourishment from a feeding tube and she needs constant monitoring for seizures.
CEDILLO: And you think you're dealing with something that is going to come and go. And then you get your child back. And then you don't. You just have a very sick child.
GUPTA: Theresa and Mike Cedillo blame vaccines for causing their daughter's autism and they've sued the federal government through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
The Cedillos' case is one of 4,900 claiming a vaccine-autism link. They're being considered together in a so-called vaccine court, part of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Last year, Michelle Cedillo's claim was chosen as the first of nine test cases to determine whether the vaccines could possibly trigger autism. More testimony is scheduled this year.
CEDILLO: She was a normal and happy developing child.
GUPTA: The Cedillos say their daughter was sickened by a combination of the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine, and the mercury containing preservative, Thimerosal, which was in childhood vaccines at the time.
As a precaution, Thimerosal has since been removed from all childhood vaccines and only remains in some flu shots. While the court considers the vaccine autism case, the medical establishment has already passed judgment -- more than a dozen large studies finding no vaccine/autism link.
DR. PAUL OFFIT, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: It's been asked and answered. Vaccines don't cause autism. I mean about 20 percent of children with autism will regress between, often, the first and second birthday. So, statistically, it has to happen where some children will get a vaccine, they will have been, fine, they get the vaccine, then they're not fine anymore.
GUPTA: Theresa and Mike Cedillo hope the vaccine court will decide vaccines can cause autism and award them enough money so Michelle can be well taken care of when they're gone.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Wednesday is World Autism Awareness Day and CNN brings you a special report on autism at noon Eastern. That is Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. Eastern. Also, you can read more about autism online at our special section on CNN.com, where you can learn more about this mysterious illness and a virtual resource center for those with autism.
LEMON: A desperate gunman, a lone hostage and a swarm of police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He started a fight with a guy. He had a gun. And he punching and he punched back. And then I said wow!, he wants to shoot the guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It is a dangerous drama that played out on the streets of Miami and it's all caught on camera. We'll show you how it played out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Southern California has seen a string of freeway shootings over the past month. But police say yesterday's death of a driver in the San Fernando Valley apparently was not connected to the others. The driver was found in a crashed sedan shot in the head.
Now, the day before, some 30 miles away, near Long Beach, another driver said a motorist shot and wounded him in a fit of road rage. Police are investigating three other recent highway shootings in which two drivers were killed and a third wounded.
LEMON: A desperate gunman, a brave hostage, police with guns drawn -- what happens next?
Well, you're about the see, because it was all caught on camera.
Here's reporter Sasha Andrade of CNN affiliate -- Miami affiliate, WPLG.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SASHA ANDRADE, WPLG REPORTER (voice-over): Scenes like this one are all too familiar in South Florida -- lights and sirens surrounding a convenience store. It's how so many armed robberies end. But this time, in this Walgreens, this is just the beginning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) take cover behind that tree.
ANDRADE: Officers responded to a 9-1-1 call for help unknowingly walked into a robbery in progress -- while our cameras were rolling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did he say? What?
You come outside.
ANDRADE: Store employee Roy Barnes was inside the Walgreens at the time. He says he and several others were trapped at gunpoint in a back room.
ROY BARNES, WALGREENS EMPLOYEE: They were going to shoot everybody. Oh, it was really horrifying.
ANDRADE: Barnes says a masked gunman came in demanding money. He says the robber was busy stuffing it into a garbage bag when he noticed incoming police officers on the security monitors.
BARNES: He saw the police on the monitors coming in the store and he still insisted on getting more money.
ANDRADE: According to Barnes, the gunman grabbed the store manager and used him to try to get away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up! Hands up! Hands up! Oh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hands up! Now!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's coming to the front.
ANDRADE: If you look closely, you can see a trash bag in the manager's hand and a gun pointed right to his back.
Now listen closely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). Give it up. (INAUDIBLE) give it up. (INAUDIBLE) give it up. (INAUDIBLE).
ANDRADE: The exchange seemed to trigger this Walgreens manager, who suddenly began fighting with all he had. Local 10 photographer Fabrissio Lopez watched it all from behind the lens of his camera.
FABRISSIO LOPEZ, NEWS PHOTOGRAPHER: He started fighting with the guy. He had a gun and then he punched him and he punched back. And then I said wow!, he wants to shoot the guy.
ANDRADE: That point is a controversial one. Take a look again, just before the gunman puts the manager into the car. He waves his gun and then there's a pop. Seconds later came the roaring and unmistakable sounds of gunfire -- a lot of it. The video doesn't show where it's coming from, so the next shot leaves you holding your breath -- until finally the hostage sits up.
BARNES: I was just thanking the good lord.
ANDRADE: So many dramatic images, yet this is the one that tells the real story -- of a man who fought for his life on the violent streets of South Florida and won.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: That was Sasha Andrade of our Miami affiliate, WPLG.
Well, by now, you're wondering what happened to the gunman. He tried to get away in the hostage's car, but was shot and wounded by police.
KEILAR: And some more dangerous storms are popping up across the Midwest today.
Bonnie Schneider, we're looking right at a tornado warning, is it, this one in Oklahoma?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Brianna, in Central Oklahoma. Let's take a closer look. This tornado warning will expire in about 40 minutes.
Let's zoom in on the region and we can query it and show you. It covers Hughes, McIntosh, Muskogee and Okfuskee and Okmulgee Counties.
Now, in the past, hours we've seen 785 strikes of lightning. So this obviously is producing some deadly lightning strikes, heavy rain. And we have reports of baseball-sized hail with this system.
Here's a look at some of the line that we can expect where the path will go, including areas like Henrietta.
Zooming into the region, we're also getting reports of rotations. This is a Doppler radar indicated tornado right now. So we don't have a tornado on the ground, but by all accounts, the winds are going to be moving in different directions and a tornado could come out of the storm at any time. So take cover if you're in this region.
We'll keep you up to date. This -- incidentally, the tornado watches continue until 9:00 tonight for cities like St. Louis and Dallas. So it's a wide area we're covering here.
KEILAR: Yes, and Bonnie Schneider, you have your work cut out for you, for sure. Thanks for that.
Well, next week, a familiar face returns to the morning TV lineup. Which one of for favorite celebrities, with the gift of gab, is jumping back in front of the cameras? Well, we're going to have the latest on this come back kid's new gig.
LEMON: Can I give a hint now?
KEILAR: OK. Give a hint.
LEMON: Rege.
OK.
KEILAR: Oh -- LEMON: Plus, The closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street is straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. Well, her son's headed to college, her daughter's a teenager and Kathy Lee Gifford is feeling that old urge. She's joining NBC's "Today Show" as co-host of the fourth hour effective next Monday. It's been eight years since Gifford left "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee".
She's poking fun at the timing of her new gig, noting that in addition to being older, she's 10 pounds heavier and a half an inch shorter, just in time for high def TV. She's very funny.
KEILAR: She looks great,, doesn't she?
LEMON: Yes. And she was one of my favorites on morning TV. I really like Kathie Lee Gifford.
KEILAR: She does. She looks fabulous.
All right.
LEMON: So welcome back, Kathie Lee.
KEILAR: Yes.
LEMON: Good to see you on TV again.
KEILAR: Yes.
And the closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.
LEMON: Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final look at the trading day.
Hi, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
KEILAR: All right. Thanks, Susan.
LEMON: And we can say, go John King. It's your turn in "THE SITUATION ROOM" my friend. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxantshop.com
